Telling The Truth.

Present day...

Johanna frowned.

"I couldn't wait for you forever, sir."

Chris strode angrily over to the window. Losing Johanna was something that he could not bear.

"You said that you would wait for me to tell her!"

"It's been six months, be realistic, Chirs. I'm throwing my youth away waiting for you- you said that you loved me, so why wont you tell her that?"

Chris turned around and stared at her, long and hard.

"Johanna, she is my wife."

"That's exactly it, Mr Thorton. She is your wife and you aren't man enough to leave her. I will never play second best; the other woman."

"And who is this 'other' woman may I ask?"

Johanna sighed.

"A lawyer. I've already promised him that I'll move in with him."

Chris took her by the hand, filled with grief.

"Johanna, you couldn't! We've been through so much together, you're not bound to him in any way, while we will always be together because of all that we've been through. We've come so far..."

Johanna opened the door and picked up her gloves and bag.

"Goodbye, Chris."

She walked out into the snowey night.

Six months before...

Johanna held her pencil poised over the textured sheet of art paper. Closing her eyes, she flicked her hair and began sketching.

It was a little embarassing for Johanna when her class had stomped and struggled into last period arts class to find that their teacher, Mr Thorton, had announced to the class that he would be posing for them to practice their portraiture. An easy task for anyone as gifted as Johanna.

A difficult task for someone as 'in love' with their teacher as Johanna.

Johanna felt a blush rising to her cheeks as her flying pencil formed his sparkling brown eyes, his aristocratic eyebrows and his lips...It was very true that it was not the first time that she had drawn Mr Thorton, but it was the first time under his watching eye.

Her heart raced when she realised that he had stood up and was inspecting the class's work.

"No, no, Abigail." He paused to critique the girl on Johanna's left. "You have to shade lightly, and not with a HB pencil."

He moved on to Johanna and paused. Johanna's mind raced as seconds dragged past.

"I'm very flattered." Was all he finally said.

One month after..

"Hello, Mr Thorton." Johanna cheerfully greeted him as he passed by her in the hall.

"Well, hello, Johanna.." Chris was both pleased and surprised that Johanna had taken the time to greet him outside of class. "Going home?"

Johanna struggled beneath a load of heavy books.

"Yes, sir. Walking."

"Ah. But it looks like rain." He paused, unsure if it would be inappropriate to offer her a lift home. He took the risk. "Can I drive you home?"

Johanna's heart leapt.

"I'd like that."

Ten minutes later Johanna found herself seated comfortably in Mr Thorton's maroon station wagon.

"So whereabouts in Gosford do you live, Johanna?"

"Oh, the Wyoming end."

"Ah, so I'll take the left here."

An uncomfortable silence ensued, and they pulled up.

"Erm..would you like a coffee?"

Chris checked his watch, his wife wouldn't expect him home until six. Would he pass up the opportunity to spend time with the most beautiful student in the school? Chris was a red-blooded man, of course he wouldn't.

After a bried fumble for her keys, Johanna opened the door, Luckily she had tidied her modest flat that she lived in. Johanna had moved away from her abusive, fighting parents when she was only fifteen.

She hurried into the kitchen.

"Do you prefer Nescafe or Maccona?" She asked.

"Nescafe, white with one sugar, thanks."

Chris could tell that she loved him from the way that she acted around him. True, he had picked up on it about six months ago when she started acting uncomfortably around him. In all honesty, Chris could not deny that the attraction was mutual.

"Johanna?"

"Mr Thorton?"

He decided to risk it. Leaning across the table, he took her hand, and there it remained, delicate and white against his own tanned and masculine hand.

Johanna looked at him so hopefully that there was no possible way that Chris could refuse her. Stretching his body as far as possible across the table he kissed her. It was a momentous, epic kiss, comparable perhaps to that of Romeo and Juliet, or Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, of Robin Hood and Lady Miriam. Months of suppressed passion only heightened the frantic madness of that one, single kiss.

Johanna, much to her own dismay, felt herself pull away.

"Oh, sir." Was all that she could manage to say, she felt as though she may burst with joy.

Suddenly, Chris felt uncomfortable, unsure of himself.

"I-er- I should go."

Johanna moved swiftly to cut of his exit.

"No, stay, please stay. You could stay tonight."

Chris was thunderstruck, Johanna was quite possibly one of the most forward young women that he had ever come across.

"I'm sorry, Johanna, as much as I want to do that, I can't. I'm expected at home."

"Will you at least come back tomorrow, then?"

Chris nodded.

"I shall. But you know that noone must know of this."

"It's not long until I leave school."

Chris nodded, painfully aware of this.

"We'll work out something."

He strolled out the door.

"I love you, Mr Thorton."

Chris nodded. He was also aware of this.

Chris Thortonn yawned and shook the dregs of his coffee around his cup. Really, he wanted another one. Even more so, he wanted Johanna.

It was absurd, absurdthat he, a fifty five year old man could not stop thinking about an eighteen year old girl. It wasn't as if he was a lovestarved teenager, he was married, for heaven's sake! Yet he treasured every moment that she spent with Johanna, and pined for her every moment that they were apart. When they were together, he was jovial, light-headed and complete. But the time that they could spend together was too few and far between; ten minutes between classes, an hour or so one afternoon a week, a phone call some evenings when he wife, Martine, was out. Not enough time when he wanted to spend every moment of the day with her. She fascinated him, with her keen, piercing wit, her artistic flair and her carefree, joyous air. Did he love her? Practicality prevented Chris from putting a label on his feelings for her.

Martine stared at Chris's powder blue shirt, was that what she though it could be? Yes, there it lay, striking against its watery backdrop, bright and bold.

Lipstick.

So this was the explanation in Chris. Suddenly he had become suave, all smiles. He was cheating on her.

Numbly, she collapsed into a black, harsh, imposing leather armchair that normally she would find cosy. She could shed no tears, she was far too shocked for that. Was she angry? Perhaps. Would she say anything?

No, she decided. She'd wait and see what happened.

And in the meantime, she would certainly do a haphazard job of ironing his shirts.

One month later...

"Chris, when are you going to tell her about us?"

"Soon. I promise."

"You don't mean that!"

Johanna's tone, was unusually not playful but stressed and irritated. Chris reasoned that it must be the stress of the H.S.C exams that was upsetting her, oblivious to her dismay of his apathetic attitude towards their relationship.

"I do, I do."

He took her hand.

"I love you, Johanna."

"Just do it, Chris, you know I wont wait forever."

Chris laughed. He knew that she would.

Present day...

Chris buried his head in his hands. This made no sense. Johanna and him were made to be together.

How far would he go to hold her..forever?